9Zero Inc

9Zero Inc is a San Francisco, California-based membership community and physical innovation hub that provides coworking spaces, digital networking, and specialized programs for climate technology professionals. The organization operates a subscription-based business model offering workspace access, lab access marketplaces, and expert-led clusters across a dozen climate sub-sectors to founders, venture capitalists, corporate sustainability teams, and scientists. While specific financial metrics and user counts remain undisclosed, the entity manages a multi-floor facility at 350 California Street that officially opened its flagship location in April 2024 to coincide with SF Climate Week. The hub frequently hosts industry events, pitch sessions, and networking programs featuring prominent climate figures and organizations such as Jigar Shah, Tom Steyer, and Anthropocene Ventures. The company was founded in 2023 by Matthew Joehnk and former RocketSpace founder Duncan Logan.

High-Level Overview

9Zero Inc. is a San Francisco-based climate innovation hub and community platform that unites founders, investors, engineers, scientists, and innovators to accelerate climate action through coworking spaces, events, networking, and specialized programs like the Lab Access Vehicle (LAV).[1][3][4] Formerly known as Climax Ventures and founded in 2021, it operates as a venture capital firm and global climate community, providing physical and digital access to the ecosystem for startups, investors, corporations, policymakers, and academics in the environmental technology sector.[1][2][3] Its mission emphasizes practical collaboration over talk, fostering partnerships via a club, meetups, and resources to drive real-world climate solutions, with a focus on hard tech and deep tech at early stages (TRL 2-5).[4][5]

9Zero's investment philosophy prioritizes connectivity and momentum in climate tech, bridging startups to capital, labs, and markets while building a resilient community.[3][4][5] Key sectors include climate tech, with emphasis on carbon sequestration, industrial automation, and commercialization of patented technologies.[1][5] It impacts the startup ecosystem by offering lab access, preferred investor terms, ongoing support, and expansion plans, including raising $3M to scale West Coast locations (San Francisco, Seattle, LA) and enter East Coast cities in 2025.[2][5]

Origin Story

9Zero launched publicly during San Francisco Climate Week in April 2024, inaugurating its first coworking space at 350 California Street in downtown San Francisco, shortly after acquiring the location.[1][2][3] Originally founded in 2021 as Climax Ventures—a venture capital firm—it rebranded to 9Zero to evolve into a hybrid physical-digital hub for climate innovators.[1] The founding team includes a Cofounder & CEO and another Cofounder, though specific names are not detailed in available sources; their focus shifted from pure VC to a manifesto-driven community emphasizing hands-on climate work amid rising global urgency.[4]

The idea emerged from recognizing climate change as a massive opportunity akin to the Model T era, prompting a pivot to "ground zero" for action with investors writing big checks, collaboration spaces, and no-frills innovation.[4] Early traction included hosting Climate Week events, developing investor personas, pitch decks, promotional videos, and inbound marketing, generating investment inquiries and excitement despite being launched less than two months prior to some reports.[2] It has raised $100K via convertible notes, marking its alive status as of nine months ago.[1]

Core Differentiators

• Hybrid Hub Model: Combines physical coworking (e.g., desks, meeting rooms, all-nighters) with digital app/community for ecosystem access, events, and connectivity, distinguishing it from traditional VC by enabling daily collaboration among diverse climate players.[1][2][3][4]
• Lab Access Vehicle (LAV) Program: Bridges early-stage (TRL 2-5) hard/deep tech startups with investors and research facilities for faster lab-to-market transition, offering streamlined fundraising, resources, preferred terms, and ongoing 9Zero membership benefits.[5]
• Community-Centric Focus: Targets US-headquartered companies with patented tech, partnering across the ecosystem (startups to policymakers); manifesto rejects conferences for "dirty hands" building, fostering real impact via networking and momentum.[3][4][5]
• Fundraising and Growth Engine: Investor outreach via pitch decks, events, and videos has yielded prospects; plans for multi-city expansion position it as a scalable network with strong brand voice in climate advocacy.[2]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

9Zero rides the surging climate tech wave, capitalizing on post-2020 urgency in decarbonization, ocean tech, and deep tech amid boiling oceans and disrupted supply chains.[1][4] Timing aligns with global policy shifts (e.g., IRA incentives) and VC interest in scalable solutions like carbon sequestration and desalination, where early-stage risks hinder progress—9Zero mitigates this via LAV and hubs.[1][5] Market forces favoring it include rising climate venture funding, demand for physical innovation spaces post-remote work, and ecosystem fragmentation it solves through connectivity.[2][3]

It influences the ecosystem by accelerating startup commercialization, exposing investors to de-risked deals, and uniting siloed players (e.g., startups with academics), potentially boosting domestic IP and economic growth in climate sectors.[5] As a 2021-founded player in San Francisco's hub, it complements firms like Propeller (ocean-climate) and Pace Ventures (health-climate), amplifying collective impact.[1]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

9Zero is poised to expand as a cornerstone climate hub, with $3M fundraising fueling 2025 East Coast growth (NY, Boston, DC) and LAV scaling to more lab-to-market bridges.[2][5] Trends like AI-driven climate modeling, policy-driven deep tech investment, and hybrid work will shape it, enhancing its role in derisking hard tech amid trillion-dollar climate markets. Its influence may evolve from local connector to national powerhouse, drawing bigger checks and startups if it sustains early buzz—positioning it as essential infrastructure for the "fireball" planet's solutions, true to its no-nonsense origins.[4]